Chapter 2 #2
Finally, Alden said, “I’ll tell you what you want to know if you get Mack to come and see me.”
Luca didn’t allow his thoughts to reach the expression on his face.
Alden couldn’t know how Luca felt about the idea of bringing his friend here to see his father.
Hammer’s half brother, a kid who was barely twenty-one, didn’t need to come into the prison to see the man who had shattered his perception of what a father should be.
They hadn’t talked about it much, but since Alden had shown his true colors to Mack, the kid hadn’t been the same.
He’d withdrawn the past few months, and even when Hammer reached out over and over, the kid rarely showed up.
He’d been getting an EMT cert and starting work, but he couldn’t carve out time for family?
Alden pushed back his chair and stood. “Guard!”
Luca watched the corrections officer lead him out, and the door shut. After Alden and his escort were out of sight, the door on the other side of the room opened, and Detective Mike Martinelli stepped in.
“You actually got somewhere.” Mike didn’t look happy about it. He paced the floor on the other side of the table, running a hand through his hair. “But we need action.”
“This is taking way too long.” Luca pushed his own chair back and stood, stretching his arms above his head, almost able to touch the ceiling.
“It’s like he’s feeding us crumbs that we’re begging for, and every time he gives us something, we have to jump on it.
We’ve got a group of people who have been under the radar for so long we can’t even grasp whether they’re real or not.
It’s not going to get solved in a matter of days. ”
“And you’re fine with them operating for years to come?” Mike asked.
Luca didn’t want to live in a city like that. “I’d rather kick down every door in Renegade and figure out who they are.”
Mike shot him a look. “But of course, you aren’t going to do that. Because it would be illegal and your private investigator license would be revoked.”
“You’re no fun.”
They both knew Luca had no intention of breaking the law. Mike just didn’t know the real reason why he always did the right thing. He knew what his life would be like if he’d made different choices and not gone into the Army, because that life was being lived in a federal prison in Texas.
“Are you going to talk to Mack? See if he’s willing to meet with his father so we can get a break on this case?”
Luca sighed. “I’ll track the kid down and see what he says. But don’t get your hopes up.”
Mike held the door, and they made their way out of cellblock four at the Renegade Correctional Facility. Thankfully, Luca had driven himself here, so he’d have the hour-long drive back to his place through morning traffic to figure out a plan of action.
“In the meantime, I got a call from the US Marshals in town. They need someone in the private sector for a job. You have an appointment tomorrow morning, first thing, at the federal courthouse.”
Luca glanced over at him. “You vouched for me?”
“Don’t get all misty-eyed about it.”
Luca laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask Hammer to do it. He’s got the same training I do.”
“Are you kidding me? Sierra would kill me if I let the guy put himself in danger.”
“Good point,” Luca said. “I think she’s had enough of that for a lifetime.” He pushed the door open, and they both stepped into the late-morning sun. Luca planned to spend the rest of the day working a couple of cases he had on his desk.
Background checks on three new hires for a local finance company, and a young woman trying to locate her grandfather. Somewhere in there he planned to track down Mack and see what the kid thought about visiting his stepdad in prison in exchange for information about the Shadow Syndicate.
“I’ll send you the info for that appointment.” Mike held out his hand and they shook.
“Happy hunting.”
The detective walked away to his unmarked police car, and Luca headed for his old truck, the one he had bought from Dolly at the diner.
He needed answers.
One way or another, he would figure out how to break this case.
Dr. Kira Yassan said a quick thank-you and climbed out of the rideshare in front of Renegade’s hottest new restaurant, the Gilded Lily.
At least there was something newer in this city than her.
With less potential staying power as well.
Made her feel downright settled, but then, it had been several years since she moved here.
This place should probably feel like home by now.
She adjusted her purse and brushed her long dark-brown hair back off her other shoulder.
One glance to her left gave her a view of the mountains in this part of Colorado.
Capped with a dusting of snow from the storm that had rolled in over the past weekend, the peaks west of the city reminded her every day that majesty existed.
She lived only six blocks from here but had never ventured to this restaurant until now, and certainly wouldn’t have done so in these heels. Considering she worked long shifts in rubber-soled shoes, Kira took every opportunity she could to wear a pair from her extensive collection of heels.
One day she might feel as if she wasn’t an impostor anywhere outside of the hospital, where she wore a lab coat over scrubs and those comfy shoes on her feet.
But was it so bad that, inside the walls of the emergency department of Renegade Mercy General Hospital, she knew exactly where she belonged?
“Dr. Yassan!”
She glanced toward the voice and spotted the woman she was meeting for lunch. Destiny climbed out of a town car that had pulled over to the curb behind where Kira’s rideshare had stopped. A driver in black held the door for the woman and then closed it behind her.
Kira waited for the woman to saunter over in her own heels, a light-pink dress highlighting her thin frame. “Mrs. Rousseau.”
The other woman kissed her cheek. “Please, it’s far past time you call me Destiny.”
She probably didn’t intend to intimidate Kira.
Destiny was who she was, and one could argue that was a good thing for the world, given the work she did.
But Kira would always be the scrawny girl from Iran, growing up in South London in a small house with far too many people taking up space.
Always looking for ways to make herself as small as possible.
Walking an hour to the library and back by herself, usually with a backpack of books.
That isn’t who you are now.
Kira had a prestigious position as the head of the emergency department at Renegade Mercy General Hospital, and her work all over the world had saved lives.
Kind of like this woman she was meeting.
“Let’s go inside.” Destiny led the way to the doors, which opened thanks to a ma?tre d’ holding the door for them.
The older man wore all black, slacks and a shirt, and had a mustache threaded with gray across his upper lip. “Good afternoon, ladies.”
Destiny spoke over her shoulder. “We have a reservation. At my usual table.” She grinned in Kira’s direction. “I’ve been here twice a week since they opened!”
Kira smiled, following her acquaintance—she wouldn’t go so far as to call Destiny a friend—into the restaurant, all the way to a table at the far end.
A place of prominence, where at least six people could sit.
But no one else was joining them. Despite the fact there were only two of them, this was where they were going to have lunch.
Hopefully without Destiny using it as a photo opportunity to build buzz for her foundation.
Kira would certainly look the part, with these wide-leg slacks and the gold blouse she had tucked in.
Assimilating and blending in anywhere in the world, no matter the situation, was one of her skills.
She had been using the art of camouflage this way for years.
And thankfully, lately it wasn’t to keep herself safe.
Her life wasn’t in danger here.
She settled her purse on the seat beside her and surreptitiously reached up to run a finger across the scar just above her left eyebrow.
No amount of plastic surgery had been able to completely remove the daily reminder of that refugee camp in Northern Syria.
No matter where she went or who she became, it would always be with her.
Reminding her of what was real, just in case she ever forgot.
She didn’t have to be a vapid doctor with no care for people and an inflated pride in having power over life and death.
She could be more than what a lot of doctors became.
So she’d traded that kind of career for refugee camps and outbreaks and finding heroes who made her want to help the world be a better place.
Now she was in yet another fresh start, and it was high time to figure out where she fit here.
Kira cleared her throat. “What’s good here?”
“Oh, just about everything. But they have the most divine oysters.” Destiny settled a pair of reading glasses onto her nose and peered at the menu. “I try to order something different every time though. It’s not good to get into a rut.”
Kira swallowed back honesty. “That sounds like an adventurous way to live.”
And didn’t that just make her sound incredibly pathetic? All she did was work at the hospital and read books at home, mostly watching church services online when she could, or listening to podcasts.
What was an everyday occurrence for this woman and her high-society lifestyle was probably going to be the highlight of Kira’s week—and her social life for the month.
Destiny laughed lightly. “If you want an adventurous life, Renegade, Colorado, is probably not the place to find it.”
“I’ve lived in enough spots in the world with far too much adventure. Finding somewhere with just enough life to be interesting suits me just fine.”
Hopefully that didn’t sound too much like she was hiding from real life.